PASTORAL CARE FOR STUDENTSon the

FIVE YEAR MEDICAL COURSE

A GUIDE FOR STUDENT SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE FOR TUTORS

BMedSci (A100), BMBS A300and the THREE YEAR MEDICAL SCIENCES

COURSE (BSc, A104)

Note: there is similar pastoral support scheme for the students on the 4 year

(GEM) course

The Main Aim of Tutor Scheme is….

….To provide a framework of pastoral support which is offered to all students for the whole of their medical course.

2. Overview of the support available for Medical Students

StudentY1/2 F Doctor

Tutor & medical family

GP

Occ Health

Unit for PD

PG Dean

Educational Supervisor

Clinical Subdean

University Counselling

Faculty Office

Module staff

MEU

ChaplaincyAcademicSupport

3. The Green Booklet is a summary of the scheme and key resources

• Includes– Overview of scheme– Concept of tutor, tutees

and medical family and aims

– Meetings and agendas– Resources and contacts for

students– Curriculum Information &

Degree Regulations– Module/Coordinators and

contact details– Personal Tutor details– Timetable for first two

years (for rescheduling)

4. Tutor, tutees and the ‘Medical Family’

• Tutor is a member of staff (University or NHS) who has volunteered for this role

• 2-4 medical students from each year

• The Medical Family is also integrated with the MedSoc ‘Parenting’ Scheme so that the first year student’s ‘parent’ will normally be a student from the second year who is in the same ‘Family’/Tutor group.

5. Roles of the tutor - General

• To have regular meetings with their tutees to establish rapport and to be a contact for support.

• Students must feel able to turn to their tutors to talk over both academic and non-academic problems if they arise.

• Tutors are not there just for discussing problems. At University students have an opportunity to participate in a wide range of leisure activities in addition to their academic studies. Sensitive and supportive advice from their tutor can help them optimise the balance between the two.

• If the tutor feels unable to provide advice personally the student should be advised to approach another individual or agency (see Overview & Green Booklet)

• Students with significant problems should be notified to – Dr Reg Dennick; Dr Cris Glazebrook (first two years)– Dr Tash Masud, Dr Margaret Jones – (clinical Years)– Prof David James; Mrs Judith Franklin (‘backstop’ for all years)

6. Role of the Tutor – Information giving and receiving

• Tutors need to be aware of the Regulations relating to the medical course. Copies of the latest edition are given to each tutor annually in the ‘Green Booklet’ and these are also displayed on the web:www.nottingham.ac.uk/medical-school/student_support

• It has already been suggested (#5 above) that tutors should feel free to direct students to other agencies.

• The Faculty Office and Medical Education Unit are especially useful for rules and regulations regarding exams and progression. Detailed discussion over performance in an assessment is best provided by Module Coordinators (the comprehensive up to date list is given in the ‘Green Booklet’)

• For the majority of students, the meetings are opportunities to give praise and encouragement for good or improving performance. For a few students, however, they are opportunities to discuss academic difficulties the student may be having (see next page)

• In this context, it is important for tutors to inform Faculty Office or the Medical Education Unit when they are leaving University or NHS employment and thus will no longer be available as a tutor

7. Role of the Tutor - Advocate

• Tutors should be prepared to advise, help or represent their tutees in dealings with Faculty or University.

• With the student’s agreement, the tutor should promptly inform the Faculty Office (using an Extenuating Circumstances Form) of circumstances which may affect the student’s performance in advance of any examinations and at other times when teaching is missed through illness. A doctor’s letter should accompany such reports.

• It is especially important that tutors represent their students at meetings of the Board of Examiners (either BMedSci or BMBS) when the student has failed examinations. If they cannot attend they should at least provide a detailed report and ideally speaks to the chair.

• Tutors should be prepared to be referees for students in connection with employment during vacations, housing, applying for electives and Foundation posts etc.

8. Role of the tutor – Regular meetings

• If a tutor has a total of ten students (2 from each of the five years) in each year there will be 11x2 formal meetings and one social meeting.

– 8x2 of these meetings occur in the first two years of the course. These should be face-to face meetings. These are timetabled in the calendar for a specific date and time. If these are incovenient they must be rescheduled at a time which is mutually convenient to tutor and tutee.

– 3x2 of these meetings occur in the clinical years. These are more flexibly scheduled to take place in a given fortnight and it is for the tutor and tutee to arrange the meeting. Furthermore, if there are no problems the tutor and tutee can communicate by email or telephone.

• Further Mandatory meetings occur with exam failures.

• We provide £10 for each student to tutors to cover the expenses of a social meeting of tutees from all five years in October. The format of this social event varies (eg meals in tutor’s home, meals in the Arts Centre, meals in QMC Restaurant, meeting in a pub, tea and cakes etc etc). Expenses are claimed after the event via the Medical Education Unit

9. First Meeting – timetabled in the first year timetable

• Collective meeting with all new tutees (~15min) covering

– Tutor to explain Pastoral Care Scheme and issue Green Pastoral Care Booklet– Tutor to give overview of themselves and family and contact details (email, home, mobile and secretarial

telephone numbers). Students should also give the tutor their contact details at this first visit. NOTE: Outlook is the official e-mail system for students that will be used by the University and must be used by students

– University Regulations on Extenuating Circumstances and example form for possible future use to be issued and read by tutee

– University Regulations on Plagiarism to be issued and read and form signed by all tutees– Medical Student Contract to be issued, read and signed by all tutees)– Reminder that a record of each regular/routine Meeting with tutor must be completed and returned to the

Faculty Office (by post or email)– Issue University Academic Support Office Booklet

• Individual meeting with each new tutee (~15min) covering (allowing time for reading the above documents)

– The tutee should prove a summary of their background– Enquiry should be made of any specific issues that the tutee wishes to discuss, especially those that

might affect their studies– The tutee should then sign all the above forms (after reading) and the tutor should return them to the

Faculty Office. The Faculty Office should be informed if a student refuses to sign one or more forms and will be responsible for following it up.

Collective Meeting Video

Tutee 2 (Bereavement)Tutee 1 (Diabetes) Returning forms

10. Other Meetings in the first two years

• Individual meetings with each tutee (~15min)• December (Years 1& 2)

– Discuss course progress and preparation for exams– Reminder of need to communicate extenuating factors in advance of exams

• February (Years 1& 2)– Results are available to students on the Student Portal– This meeting is for Tutors to meet tutees to review and discuss their results

• May (Years 1& 2)– Discuss course progress and preparation for exams– Reminder of need to communicate extenuating factors in advance of exams– Contacts for June (when Results available after end of term) need to be

documented with the tutor and the Faculty Office• September (Year 2 only)

– General discussion reviewing first year and plans for second year

December Meeting

February Meeting

May Meeting

September Meeting

11. First Clinical Meeting – takes place in March, early in Clinical Phase I (halfway

through course)

• Individual meetings with tutees (up to 15 mins each) to review how the transition to the Clinical Practice course is progressing and whether they have any problems

• Remind students that if they have any issues relating to the Trust where they are placed, the undergraduate co-ordinator for each hospital is the first point of contact

• If any students are having doubts about continuing the course they should make an appointment to see the Clinical Subdean, Professor David James or Mrs Judith Franklin

First Clinical Meeting

12. Second Clinical Meeting – takes place in July (at the start of their final academic year -

Clinical Phase III)

• Individual meetings with tutees (up to 15 mins each)• Discussion (~15 min):

– Plans for final year– Review of CV (produced during course routinely as part of

curriculum)– Plans for Electives (separate provision of information in

curriculum)– Plans for Foundation posts (Postgraduate Dean with Faculty

Office implement the process)– Thoughts about careers (separate provision of information in

curriculum)– Emphasize using tutor for references

Second Clinical Meeting

13. Third Clinical Meeting – takes place in January (just before ‘finals’ in Clinical Phase

III)

• Discussion of the two progress tests results

• Discuss progress of revision

• Enquire/remind about extenuating circumstances.

• Reminder of mandatory meeting if they have failures in Finals.

• Appointment in June, during the Foundation course, to discuss the course and the future (optional but recommended).

14. Tutors have to meet students who fail exams and should cover the following:

• Why? Possible reasons are

– Lack of Application

– Inability to cope with subjects (lack of ability)

– Lack of aptitude and motivation

• Were there mitigating/extenuating circumstances?

• Discussion and plan

Failed Exams Meeting

15. Final points• Effort is required by both sides to make the pastoral scheme work and to establish a

rapport• Comments on obligations regarding accessibility

– Change of appointments can occur by mutual agreement; timetables for the first two years are in the Green Booklet to indicate to tutors when students DO NOT have any scheduled sessions

– Alternative ways of keeping in contact are acceptable in the clinical years if there are no problems (eg email, telephone); face to face meetings are mandatory if tutees have problems including exam failures

• Documentation and confidentiality– The Faculty Office should be informed by the tutor (via paper or email) that a

scheduled/regular meeting has taken place with a tutee and that the given Agenda was covered.

– Any discussion during the tutorial meeting should be regarded as confidential and the only notes that are made are hand written ones that are kept under file by the tutor.

– Exceptions to this understanding of confidentiality are in circumstances where are ‘fitness to practice’ issues have been identified. Under these circumstances the tutor is encouraged to get in touch with the Senior Tutors (Drs Dennick and Glasbrook), Clinical Subdeans (Drs Masud and Jones) or Mrs Franklin or Prof James to discuss their concerns. This can be done anonymously in the first instance

• A change of Tutor is possible if there is a breakdown of the relationship or it is requested